Blood Runs Thicker...
by TK Date
Summary: They always say to keep your friends close and enemies closer. Well, for Tsuzuki, you can't get much closer than family... (Spoilers for volume 5 of the manga)
1. Part One

**Blood Runs Thicker...  
By TK Date**

This fic has partial spoilers for the fifth volume of the manga. (Yeah, I know you're probably wondering how the heck I could spoil _that_ volume of the manga and not have the Earl in the story. ^_~ Watch me.) Also, I'm taking liberties on Tsuzuki's past given that we are told pretty much _nothing_ as to what happened between the time he was very young and when he was accepted into Muraki's grandfather's hopsital at age 18. Well, without further ado, the fic 

~*~ 

    Tsuzuki…was quiet. 

    That in and of itself was enough to set Hisoka on edge. Normally Tsuzuki had such an ungodly amount of energy surrounding him that Hisoka wondered if his partner might have accidentally gotten himself addicted to speed. There had only been few pervious instances in which the amethyst eyed Shinigami had not acted in that way, and those were during his confrontations with one Muraki Kazutaka. However, their last confrontations with that man had been quite some time ago, and the two of them had long since recovered from their hardships at Kyoto. Thus, the flashbacks and reminiscing pertaining to those events had been reduced to a minimum. Therefore, it stood to reason that Tsuzuki should not be quiet. So, it was also a good rule of thumb that Hisoka would respond in his instinctual way, with empathy. His shields were lowered slightly, allowing in the teeming volume of the crowd's insignificant emotions. 

    All he cared about was Tsuzuki, and what he found was certainly not reassuring. Natural barriers were raised about his partner's feelings. They were as strong as they had been the day the two had met. Needless to say, Hisoka was worried. 

    "Tsuzuki," he called out softly, knowing that it would be foolish to try and invade the older man's mind, besides it would cost him much less energy and peril to simply try and talk to his partner. 

    However, the thought of penetrating the veritable brick wall surrounding Tsuzuki's mind seemed slightly more appealing as violet eyes continued to scrutinize something within the distance. The same eyes narrowed slightly, forming a small wrinkle in the middle of Tsuzuki's forehead. Before Hisoka had a chance to attempt to distract him again Tsuzuki rose, his black gloved hands pushing down upon the table where his only half eaten key lime pie sat, fork stuck midway through the slice, abandoned midstride. 

    "Tsuzuki…" Hisoka's voice trailed off as he noticed the expression upon his partner's face. 

    "Do you see her?" 

    For a moment Hisoka was certain that the words were only a figment of his imagination, that they hadn't really been spoken by Tsuzuki's lips. Yet nonetheless, his eyes followed the amethyst gaze. 

    "Which one is she?" He had trouble discerning which person was the one that Tsuzuki was entranced by. They all seemed the same to his eyes. 

    For a spilt second Tsuzuki glanced back at the boy where he sat, more than a slight amount of worry flashing behind his eyes. His mouth was drawn into a tight line, but Hisoka could not observe much more than this before Tsuzuki quickly resumed his watch. 

    "She's…" he stopped. "She's gone…" 

    Hisoka could only stare as he slumped back into his seat, running a hand through unruly brown hair. Within moments his usual smile returned as he resumed his destruction of a perfectly good piece of key lime pie. Naturally, Hisoka had the tact to wait for a moment before he asked the obvious question. 

    "Who was she?" 

    "Hm?" Tsuzuki looked up, purple eyes wide with a bit of meringue on his nose. 

    With a small smile on his face Hisoka wiped the bit of baked sugar and egg whites off the other man's nose. "The girl you were looking at." 

    "Oh…" the smile faded from his face for a moment before he smiled and shook his head, "It's nothing Hisoka. Here," He offered a bit of the pie, "You should try some, it's really good." 

    Deciding it was best to drop the matter the empath cautiously tasted the small bit of pie. Almost instantly his found himself grimacing. 

    "It's sour…" 

    Tsuzuki merely shrugged and continued to eat, speaking between bites. "The meringue balances it out a little bit." 

    "I never knew you had a liking for sour foods," Hisoka pointed out as he took a sip of his tea, "Usually it's just apple, chocolate and anything else with sufficient amounts of sugar in it." 

    A pout was forming on key lime covered lips. "The meringue has sugar in it!" 

    "But that's only half the pie," Hisoka pointed out, "Usually you go for something that's all sugar plus whipped cream on top." 

    There was a moment of silence between the two as Tsuzuki contemplated both his partner and the pie before him. Slowly he leaned forward, his eyes intently focused on Hisoka's face and grinned. 

    "You know, if you wanted the rest of it, you could have just asked." 

    However, even the reaction time of a Shinigami wasn't fast enough to avoid Hisoka's flying fist. In an instant Tsuzuki found out that key lime pie really was sour, and that it was not a good idea to get things that are sour into one's eyes. 

    "Baka…" he heard Hisoka mutter as he pulled his head off the table and tried to make use of the pie that was now smeared across his face. However once all of the key lime had vanished a pout formed in its place. 

    "Well what else was I supposed to think? You kept on sounding like you were trying to convince me to not finish it or something…" 

    "I was not!" Hisoka retorted. A pensive look found its way onto his face as he stared off into the crowd. He spoke softly words that were only meant to be heard by himself. "It's just that you've been acting a bit different lately…" 

    But Hisoka was quite the lucky one, seeing as Tsuzuki either did not hear him or didn't bother giving the subject at hand any further discussion. Instead, he simply stood once again, but this time with a grin on his face, and held his hand out to his partner. 

    "Come on Hisoka, Kanoe said that he had something he wanted to talk to us about after the lunch break, and it ended a half an hour ago." 

    With a sigh the blonde rolled his eyes and stood on his own. "It wouldn't have been that way if you hadn't insisted upon trying every desert on the menu." 

    Tsuzuki merely smiled as he grabbed the younger boy's hand and headed off. "If we try to sneak in the back I'm pretty sure no one will notice that we got back from Chijou late, we can just say that we were trying to get some work done and came back early!" 

    In response, Hisoka shook his head in disgust at his partner's obvious lack of logic. "Who's going to believe that you would come in early from your lunch break?" 

    "Tatsumi might!" 

    "Tatsumi-san would probably be the last person to listen to that kind of skewed reasoning," the blonde stated flatly. 

    This remark struck Tsuzuki as his eyes grew to the size of saucers, saucers near overflowing with tears, mind you. "Tatsumi's not that mean!" 

    Hisoka favored him with an incredulous look. "This _is_ the same Tatsumi who's cut your spending money numerous times, you know." 

    Tsuzuki contemplated this for a moment before he glared up at the sky and shook his fist. "You demon! Tatsumi!!" 

    The lightning fast change of Tsuzuki's mood was evidence enough for Hisoka that he was, in fact, his normal self. So, the eternal teen shook his head and chuckled, walking along with his black clad partner. Never knowing or feeling the amethyst eyes upon his back. 

~~~~~ 

    Apparently, somewhere in Chijou, Tsuzuki had managed to pick up a pair of glasses which, instead of lenses, held an image of two perfectly normal open eyes. They made it seem as if the wearer was actually intently listening and paying attention to anyone who might have happened to be lecturing in a tedious monotone. Unfortunately for Tsuzuki, they didn't carry any in violet, and Tatsumi was not colorblind. 

    Halfway through the staff meeting he chose to walk right u to the slumbering Shinigami and snatch the new glasses right off his face. When he received no response he simply took a step back, crossed his arms over his chest, and declared in a voice loud enough to wake the dead, "And I also inform you now that there will be a reduction in spending allowances for those employees who are found neglecting to pay attention during their mission briefings." 

    Needless to say, Tsuzuki remained alert and awake throughout the whole meeting. However, no one could really blame him for falling asleep. The mission was a relatively simple one. A man had died of mysterious causes, without telling his wife of a collection of stories written for her which could, if published, no doubt support the widow through the rest of her life. Because of this he remained in Chijou, haunting the poor woman trying to lead her towards the manuscripts. It would be the job of the Shinigami to make sure that she found the works, and to discover exactly how the hold man ha did so his spirit could rest, in other words lots of menial busy work. 

    Within minutes they were back on the streets of Chijou, searching for clues on the meager leads that Tatsumi was wont to give them. This didn't exactly put Tatsumi anywhere near number one on Tsuzuki's list of favorite people. But the two Shinigami were still determined to do their job and do it well, lest they lose any more money than their already restricted budget, so Hisoka read off the details that they were given as the two walked. 

    "Taso Shiso died four months and two days ago. He spent most of his life working as an accountant, never accepting promotions. Shiso claimed that he needed the extra time for 'something special', which we assume is either his wife Kiyoka or these manuscripts that we've been told of. One night he went missing. His wife called the police, an investigation went out and two weeks later his body was found within his own home, locked inside the closet Kiyoka is suspect, but there is no evidence supporting this, and she herself denies it. The authorities have no leads as to how he died so far." 

    "You mean we have to find that out on our own?" Tsuzuki asked, watching the sky as he walked. 

    "That and practically everything else. But it shouldn't be too hard. Remember, we can find things that they can't," Hisoka reminded him, looking up from the information in his hand for a moment before glancing back at it. 

    "Ah…so where do we start?" Falling back slightly in his step the taller of the two Shinigami glanced over his partner's shoulder at the contents of the folder. 

    "First, we're going to check on his wife, to make sure that she receives the manuscripts. After that we can deal with exactly how Shiso died.." 

    "Can we stop for some desert after that?" Tsuzuki's eyes were wide as he tried his best to use a puppy dog look which had been perfected over at least seventy years on his partner. Hisoka didn't stand a chance. 

    "Just one, we do have a case here, you know, and Konoe and Tatsumi won't be happy if we waste our - hey! 

    Tsuzuki seemed to either have not heard the second part of Hisoka's sentence or he simply didn't care, because he was glomped onto his partner within seconds. 

    "Sankyuu Hisoka!" 

    "Tsuzuki!" the smaller boy protested a split second before his body went stiff. This, however, Tsuzuki was perceptive enough to notice. He quickly let go of his partner, knowing what physical contact did to the teen's empathy. 

    "Hisoka?" 

    Suddenly Hisoka's mind was very far away. He didn't notice the fact that Tsuzuki was desperately trying to shake him out of his reverie, or the fact that the quickened pace of his breathing was bordering on near hysteria. All that Hisoka cared about was the cold that seemed to encompass his entire body and seep into the fabric of his soul. He knew where this sort of feeling came from, and he knew what it meant. But what he didn't know was how to stop it. 

    Just as quickly as the flash came, it was gone. The younger Shinigami drew in a quick, deep breath as the elder stood and watched. Only when Hisoka's breathing had slowed to its normal pace and he pressed a hand to his forehead did Tsuzuki speak. 

    "Are you okay Hisoka? What was that." 

    There was a moment of silence between them before Hisoka merely shook his head and put his arm back down at his side. 

    "It's nothing." He spoke softly. "Come on, we need to make it to Shiso's house and get this over with if you want to get your dessert." 

    Tsuzuki was grinning once again. "Right!" he quipped before the two of them set off towards the Taso house. 

    The two Shinigami were of course, too caught up in their own affairs to notice the crowd that was drawing around a nearby outdoor café. Blonde hair was rare in Japan, especially platinum strands framing skin as pale as ivory. Unfortunately for the women in the crowd, the creature of beauty given the shape of a man already had a partner. She was a thin form, always smiling, with soft brown hair and amethyst eyes that saw everything. It wasn't long before they also left the scene, following the Shinigami calmly as a wise feline will creep up on his unsuspecting prey. 

~*~ 

Wooo scary ne? ^_^ More's comin soon, so review! Please? 


	2. Part Two

**Blood Runs Thicker...  
By TK Date**

Part 2 

As said before, spoilers for Manga volume 5. ^_^ In this chapter the angst starts! So does me being a totally evil bastard to Tsuzuki, but that's another story ^_~ Enjoy the fic! 

~*~ 

    Two danced across the floor, held by each other, moving with the flow of the music. They glided over the well polished floor, only faltering slightly. After a few more occurrences of this type the woman pulled herself from her partner, and put her hands on her hips with a smile on her face. 

    "No…Sensei, try to move more gracefully. Let your arms glide, we should fly across the floor." She held him in place, putting herself in the male position, "Like this." 

    Her voice was soft, meant only for the two of them as once again they began to soar like a pair of flawless ivory doves, trying their best to life themselves from the confines of gravity and into the heavens. For a while, they continued before the man's elegant voice whispered into his partner's ear. 

    "Forgive me, Ruka-san, but I believe that I should be taking your position now." 

    "Hmm?" 

    She didn't comprehend what he said. For her this was heaven. His arms upon her, breathing in his scent, and seeing nothing but his beautiful eyes and hair of similar silver shades. However, reality struck her within a second. Quickly she moved away from the man and bowed, a blush creeping across her face, matching her silk white gown and amethyst eyes perfectly. 

    "I'm sorry, Sensei, I just got so caught up in the movements, I'd forgotten we'd switched." 

    His response was simply a laugh, one that was both deep and light at the same time. He smiled amicably at her and tilted his head slightly to the side as he spoke to her. 

    "You make it sound like you often danced as if you were a man, Ruka-san." 

    "Well…" she started, her blush growing deeper, eyes cast to the floor, "I did teach my brother how to dance. He was beautiful on the dance floor, even though he was so young. Asato…" now she was beaming with pride at the thought of her younger brother, "Asato had a natural talent for dancing." 

    "And what did you teach him?" the man asked softly. 

    "To love. In order for two partners to dance as they should, to dance as if they are birds gliding gracefully in the sky they must love. There has to be love between two partners in the dance, it's the most essential part. Love is what defines the movements of the dance, and love is what gives the dance its birth." Turning, she shared her smile and twinkling violet eyes with the pale man, "Don't you think so, Sensei?" 

    For a moment he contemplated this and returned her smile. "I do, Ruka-san." He then took her in his arms and led her across the dance floor, and once again they moved like birds in flight. 

    The night grew late, and the skies dark. Soon they were dancing in a deep cobalt sea of blue, but they did not care. Luminescence from the moon gleamed through faceted windows, alighting the floor with an ethereal glow. With his white dress, ivory skin, and silver hair, the man was like an angel, and his radiance encompassed both himself and his partner. Once they were both too tired to continue their flight, the two stood in the center of the floor, holding one another in their arms but never speaking a word. 

    Light flooded into the room as the moon rose high in the sky, shining its light onto the two who stood. The man smiled, stroking the soft brown hair of his partner. 

    "Ruka-san," he asked, "Do you love me?" 

    With a smile that he could not see, she answered, "Of course I do, Sensei. I love you more than any other." 

    A sanguine hue was cast over the angel and his partner as the moon was dyed crimson red by the blood of the night. He grinned. 

    "Very good Ruka-san, very good." 

~~~~~ 

    If you really were to think about it, Shinigami functioned exactly like those detectives on old cop shows. They'd search around a bit, interrogate the old man's widow, almost die during their search and then miraculously solve whatever mystery was plaguing the good people of Insert-Town-Name-Here. All in a day's work. 

    Hisoka _hated_ mundane routines like that. And this was one of them. Man dead, widow sobbing, Shinigami to the rescue. Too bad they didn't get any sort of funding for new wardrobes like something in a nice skintight blue spandex. Though Hisoka would never go near the stuff, there was a hole forming in his favorite jacket. And Tatsumi wasn't paying them enough so that he could go out and get a new one, plus denim was just so hard to stitch up right. 

    He sighed. Damn Tatsumi to hell, oh wait, someone already did that. 

    The main reason for his irritation was the fact that he and Tsuzuki were getting absolutely _nowhere_ by interrogating the widow of the deceased. The woman was either psychotic or she was really clueless. 

    "Now, I know you're both very nice men," she repeated, about the tenth time she'd said that same thing within the last hour, Hisoka thought, "But my Shiso isn't dead. He's just gone, he'll be back soon, won't he?" 

    Taso Kiyoka was a pretty middle aged woman, she lived up to her name. White luster. She had the pale face, gentle features, and a flawless smile filled with pearly whites to match. Her eyes even had a strange tint that made them seem almost silver at times. Hisoka did not like that. It made him mistrust her even more, as if the fact that the woman only experience emotions at the level of a child wasn't enough to set him off. 

    "Kiyoka-san," Tsuzuki began once again, in a desperate effort to get information out of the woman, "We're sorry to tell you, but your husband Shiso is dead. We're friends of his, and we need to find something that he hid inside the house, and after that we're going to help you find out what killed him." 

    "Oh but he's not dead you see," she restated again, keeping up her shallow emotions and completely stunned features, "He's quite alive. Do you want me to go get him for you now? I think he just went up to his room, he said something about how he doesn't like to greet demons at his doorstep." 

    This caught Hisoka's attention. His eyes narrowed as he felt a small wave of distress coming from Tsuzuki. It stopped soon, but that still didn't keep Hisoka from worrying. He glanced at his partner out of the corner of his eye. 

    "What did you say?" Tsuzuki asked carefully. 

    The woman blinked, looking confused once again. "Well what I said I've told you already. My husband is not dead." 

    With a sigh Tsuzuki turned to Hisoka and gave him the smile that the younger Shinigami was so familiar with. "Okay then, why don't we go now Hisoka?" 

    Hisoka gave him a short nod before glancing back at the woman once more. 

    She was smiling. And it was not a smile like Tsuzuki's. It was more like a smirk, something evil indicating she knew something that they didn't. 

    "You know it's quite unfair of you gentlemen, I mean having a killer accuse another of killing." 

    Tsuzuki only stared at her. His mouth hung part-way open and there were waves of shock and confusion coming from him. Before Hisoka could move to help him he stepped toward the woman. 

    "What did you say?" This time his tone was lower, more dangerous. 

    The woman grinned in response. "Murderer," she spat, "You have nothing against me you demon, killer of your own family." 

    "Tsuzuki…" Hisoka whispered, trying to catch his partner's attention so they could both leave. This was definitely not good. If things continued…he didn't know whether Tsuzuki would get angry or break down in tears, and he really didn't want to know. 

    However, Kiyoka's high pitched laugh broke his thoughts. She was still grinning, and it was obvious from her breathing that she was hyperventilating, but Hisoka couldn't tell why. 

    "The butcher's knife and the purple eyes, staining us all to die again. Run if you can, you can't escape the devil," she chanted while grinning madly and pointing one accusing finger in Tsuzuki's direction. "You'll kill us all! I'm not the one who killed Shiso, you killed him! You killed them all you demon!" 

    "How…" Tsuzuki's voice was softer than it usually was, and it was pained. He spoke as he did when Hisoka found him in the fires. He spoke like he wished for death. "How did you…know…?" He asked in disbelief. 

    She simply smiled at him and cooed, "Sweet little killer, everyone knows your sins. You can see the blood staining your hands, don't you know? It doesn't come out, it never comes out. You kill. You _kill_." 

    "Stop it…" Tsuzuki whispered. 

    "Killer! Demon spawn!" she shrieked, her voice growing louder and more frantic. 

    "No…" He was shivering, Hisoka saw it, but he didn't know what to do. 

    "You were a coward who didn't want your own life to be taken so you let them kill your family!" 

    "That's not true…" His head shook in disbelief. _How does she know this?_ Tsuzuki asked himself. _Why does it have to come back to haunt me?_

    "You _let_ them slaughter your sister!" 

    Now he glared at her, fire raging in his eyes. "I didn't!" He shouted in response to her crazed screams 

    "Weren't you there watching as she screamed in pain and agony? As she was sent to hell just so you could continue your pitiful existence?" 

    "Stop it!" Tsuzuki screamed. Suddenly a blast ripped through the house. Hisoka only barely had enough time to shield himself from it, as did Tsuzuki, but they knew that Kiyoka would not survive. Her scream tore through the air as she perished. 

    After a few moments he lowered his hands from where they had protected his face. Quickly he looked to Tsuzuki, who stood staring blankly at the woman's corpse before him. Her blood was splattered across his face. The older Shinigami's arms hung limp at his sides as he slowly slid down to his knees. Hisoka approached him slowly and gently placed a hand on his partner's shoulder. He felt the despair, he felt the anguish, and the confusion. 

    "How…?" Tsuzuki whispered. "I didn't…how did she…did this…?" 

    "I don't know…" Hisoka answered. Apparently they'd have a new case ready once they returned, but for now they were done with their job. Taso Kiyoka had murdered her husband Shiso, and even if they didn't know why, their work was done. 

    "Tsuzuki…" Hisoka spoke softly, "Let's go…" 

    Mutely the other Shinigami nodded, his eyes still focused upon the spot were Kiyoka had once been, but was no longer. His eyes were empty once again, threatening to spill tears that Hisoka knew would never come. Crying never brought them back, and he figured after seventy years Tsuzuki had figured that out and given up on his tears. Instead, he simply felt the pain, until the moment when he knew he could force it down, bringing back his familiar, energetic and cheerful demeanor. Hisoka hated the fact that Tsuzuki had all that pain within his life. He wanted to find some way to stop it, but he knew that wouldn't come any time soon. 

    Slowly Tsuzuki rose from the spot where he knelt and nodded once more. "You're right Hisoka…" 

    The two of them walked out of the house without speaking a word to each other, but Hisoka's hand remained upon his partner's back as a sign of comfort. Once they had made their way to the road nearby Tsuzuki turned back and stared at the house. 

    "She didn't have to die…" he murmured. 

    "I know," Hisoka responded quietly, "We'll find out what happened, I promise." 

    Tsuzuki would have responded to his partner's comment, had he been listening. Instead his purple eyes were distant and unfocused, watching something on the horizon that Hisoka could not see. 

    Hisoka quickly noticed this and nudged Tsuzuki slightly, "Tsuzuki…what's wrong?" 

    However, Tsuzuki did not respond before he took off running. Despite the fact that Hisoka was startled, he managed to keep up with his partner's pace. The older Shinigami continued to run and, from Hisoka's vantage point, didn't appear to be following anything or running in any specific direction. Silently, he wondered what could have set Tsuzuki off like this, other than the death of Taso Kiyoka. But one person's death would not have caused Tsuzuki to resort to something like this. Something was wrong. 

    Hisoka was so caught up in his own thoughts that he did not notice when Tsuzuki stopped running, and almost slammed into his partner's back. 

    "What is it Tsuzuki?" he asked the moment before he moved to the side and saw what lay before the older man. 

    There was a body, spread across the ground. It was the body of a young woman with soft brown hair, and dead eyes that bore the same color as Tsuzuki's. As Hisoka sat and stared in shock Tsuzuki slowly lowered himself to the ground and gathered the body within his arms. He too stared in disbelief for a moment before a whisper slipped past his lips, echoing the confusion that filled his mind. 

    "Oneesan…?" 

~*~ 

^_^ I like angst. I like reivews too ya know...*winkwinknudgenudge* 


	3. Part Three

**Blood Runs Thicker...  
By TK Date**

Part 3 

Blah, this part's done now. I kinda dun like it, not enough angst in it, but ah well. Course, the only reason I dun like it is prolly cuz it's nowhere near as angsty as Kouri's fic ^_^;; yeah, so anywho, here it be. 

~*~ 

    When the Shinigami gathered within the office at Meifu there was an eerie silence about the room. Tsuzuki had yet to regain his usual optimistic demeanor, but he had still managed to keep his features neutral when he spoke to his fellow Shinigami. He was now standing next to Hisoka, glancing about the room. Once he determined that no one else was going to comment upon his summary of the mission he sat down and let out a soft inaudible sigh. 

    Watari watched him descend, looking very perplexed from his seat where he was feeding 003 French fries. The owl hooted happily and ruffled her feathers, begging for more attention. Her owner complied as he addressed his fellow Shinigami. 

    "Well, from the autopsy I performed on Ruka, she appeared to have died from heart failure." 

    Tatsumi pushed his glasses up on his nose and raised an eyebrow at the blonde. 

    "And what caused that?" he asked. 

    The scientist merely shrugged in response. "It beats me. From what I can tell it just…stopped working, that's all." 

    "I see," the secretary nodded slightly and closed his indigo eyes. "Anything else?" 

    For a moment Watari's amber eyes stole over to glance at Tsuzuki before he smiled and shook his head. "No, that's all." 

    "Very well then," Tatsumi nodded once more, "You can sit now." 

    Watari did as he was told and silence descended once again. This time it was Konoe who broke it by clearing his throat. 

    "If that is all, then we are done here," he turned to face Hisoka and Tsuzuki as he addressed them, "Tsuzuki, you and Kurosaki-kun will have a short vacation for the next three days. You're free to do as you wish." 

    Tsuzuki's eyes lit up upon hearing this and he immediately sprouted his familiar puppy ears. "Sankyuu Konoe-kacho!" he cried as he quickly attached himself to his partner. "Ne, Hisoka, let's go get some cake!" 

    With a resigned sigh and a smile few were quick enough to catch, Hisoka agreed. The two quickly left the room, all eyes watching their departure. Once Watari was sure they were out of earshot, he carefully cleared his throat. 

    "Now, the traces of her DNA clearly showed signs of manipulation. There were degrees of both mental and emotional curses I found that could only be tied to one person," he paused for a moment and fixed both Tatsumi and Konoe with a glance, "_He_ also apparently did more than just that. Her DNA was…mixed, to put it simply." 

    "With whose?" Tatsumi asked, already knowing the answer. 

    "Tsuzuki's." 

    The two other men nodded slightly and then sat for a moment, contemplating their current situation. It was Konoe who broke the silence once again. 

    "We did not receive any word of this sort of spiritual unrest from Hakushaku-sama or Enma DaiOh-sama. However, if it happens again, it will warrant an investigation by one of our agents." 

    "Do you think we should take that risk?" Tatsumi asked him. 

    "We have no other choice. It is our duty to handle these affairs. And if this is who Watari-san expects it is, then it would be in our best interests to keep a close eye on this situation." Konoe responded. 

    "Why her?" Watari asked carefully, "And how? He would only be able to clone her if he had some genetic material. And she's been dead for over eighty years, ne?" 

    "By bringing her back he can get to Tsuzuki. He knows that. From what happened in Tsuzuki's past…" the man sighed and shook his head, "We can only assume that he obtained a sample from something contained within his grandfather's files in order to recreate her." 

    "Watari-san," Tatsumi spoke up, "To what degrees was her mentality altered and cursed?" 

    "It's hard for me to tell, having not been in contact with her as she was living, but the areas of her brain that were altered were sections that control her individual will." 

    "And the curse?" Konoe asked, raising an eyebrow. 

    Watari let out a nervous laugh and grinned. "It's amazing," he responded with a gleam in his eyes, "He's essentially created something where he can have complete control of her. Body functions, emotions, everything. She's not even consciously aware of the control being exercised. He has her in an iron grip all because of this curse." 

    "Is that what caused her death?" Tatsumi questioned the scientist. 

    "Actually, it isn't. The only place where I found traces of the curse were in her memory." 

    Konoe frowned at hearing this, "Her memory?" 

    Watari nodded, "Yup, I'm not sure what happened there, but he either blocked something or uncovered what was repressed as far as I can tell." 

    This only made Konoe's frown deepen as he stared at the table. Tatsumi and Watari glanced at each other for a moment upon seeing this. Watari merely smiled and shrugged as Tatsumi shook his head. 

    "If she didn't die from the curse then how did she die?" he asked. 

    "Like I said before," Watari explained, "Her heart failed. No intervention from the curse whatsoever. It just stopped." 

    "I see…" Tatsumi said. 

    "This is all we can do right now," Konoe spoke up, lifting his eyes and glancing at both of them, "Tatsumi, I want you two get someone to keep an eye on the good doctor, and Watari should continue his research on this curse. If he has the ability to clone, then he could just be creating human dolls under the control of the curse. We'll need some way to counter that." 

    "I'm on it." Watari nodded. Quickly he scooped up 003 from where she had dozed off on the table and was out of the door within a moment. Tatsumi watched him go before he too rose from his seat, glancing at Konoe. 

    "Are you sure we should keep this a secret from Tsuzuki?" 

    The old man nodded firmly. "It's better that he does not find out that _he_ had a hand in this. It's hurt him enough to see his sister again, and dead at that." 

    Tatsumi nodded quietly, "Very well then." He gathered his things and left the room the to silence of Konoe's requiem. 

    After a moment the man sighed and glanced at the sakura falling outside the window. .He sighed and stood before the window, watching the petals fall. Shaking his head he muttered to himself. 

    "Looks like his past is catching up with him again," Konoe sighed, "I should have done something about this earlier…" The blossoms continued to fall as he left to room and its silence. 

~~~~~ 

    Everything was stained red. He loved it that way. The crimson was the color of blood. It cast a strange pink shade across his face but he did not mind this. These bloody colors left him feeling at home. Calmly he walked won the metallic hall, its glass walls casting their sanguine glow onto the impassive gray floor. One white gloved hand strayed to brush across the glass contained that lined the walls. For a moment he stopped before one of them, his palm resting against the glass. 

    Glancing into the bloody waters, he saw perfection. She was soft, fragile, and willing to be molded to his will. The markings he had given her were proof of that. They were also wrought in blood. Symbols of archaic times danced across her pale skin. They would vanish when she woke, but for now they were there for him to admire. 

    "My precious doll," he purred low in his throat, caressing the glass as a lover would, "You are my perfection. The perfect lure to draw my beloved to me, the perfect way for me to exact my revenge." Pausing for a moment, he chuckled, "We are quite alike, your brother and I. Both having murdered our own siblings," a slow frown crept onto his face, "Attempted murder on my side, but it still counts, ne Ruka-san?" The body within the glass gave him no response, and he merely smiled. "I think we shall continue our dance now, Ruka-san. The never ending dance of death." 

    His graceful fingers tapped the key pad to the side of the container he stood by. Calmly, he stood back, standing before the glass which held his creation. Her head tilted up, mouth slightly up as life was given to her. The bloody fluids washed away, but the colors cast by the housings of her sister still gave her skin a reddish tone. Slowly, she slower her head, eyes still closed as the glass before her split and opened to grant her escape. With her body still wet from the liquid that had recently surrounded her, she stepped out. Light from the home she left glowed white behind her as her head lifted to face the smiling man before her. Her amethyst eyes opened, the red markings vanishing from her skin, and she smiled softly. 

    "Sensei…" she whispered. "I missed you…" 

    He merely smiled in response and took her hand in his. "As did I, Ruka-san." Slowly he guided her away from the blood stained hallway. "Would you like to dance again?" he asked once they left the room. 

    Ruka smiled wider and threaded her fingers within his. "I would love to." 

    The two walked away from the softly glowing room, leaving a trail of red liquid in their wake. 

~*~ 

There we are, next chapter. Don't expect more for a while, finals're coming up and I need to bring my religion grade up and finish my art project. But I might write faster if I get more reviews ya know... 


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